After the buzz of reunion calmed down and they settled down to talk more when Lawrence remembered that Amber was the one claiming to be Umbra even when the real umbra is in front of him.
“Miss Amber said something about being you being her boss and man, why is she filling the space for you though? I mean this is a great opportunity to make your dreams come true” he curiously asked and Tom scratched his head at the question.
He didn’t know the exact response to give in order to anger him or make him look like a fool so he hesitated for a bit before Lawrence came to his rescue. “It’s okay, don’t worry about anything. I won’t hold you for it, there must have been a reason after all” Lawrence assured him and he answered.
“You do know that I am the CEO of the biggest shopping mall in Chicago right and one of the sons of Holland group?” he started and Lawrence nodded his head in acknowledgement.
“I had to ditch art in order to get this position, it was the requirement for my seat today” he revealed with a sad tone.
Lawrence could not understand the reason why he had to ditch art or even if he gave the exhibition dream up for the position, he could post his work freely and let people know he’s the owner.
“I would have loved to do that but then, things are more complicated in our family than what you think. There are lots of stories attached and also there are people I have to protect.” He responded and Lawrence decided to give the issue a rest.
They exchanged contact and decided to keep in touch frequently. He also offered Lawrence a place to stay at the Holland hotels with all bills covered as a form of apologizing for deceiving him.
“I know we are friends but this could have been really dangerous if it were to be another person. You might be sued or even Miss Amber but then I can understand you and I wish you the best” Lawrence said to him before they parted for the night.
****
Amber was relieved that the talks went well and couldn’t help but congratulate him as soon as he showed up to pick her up after sending Lawrence to the hotel.
“Thank you for all you do, I was able to reconcile with my friend, keep my position and get my jobs done perfectly because someone as cool as you is by my side” he stated and she pouted.
“Is that what I get in return for doing things as cool as this?” she whined and he asked what she wanted. “I want to be able to love you as much as I can, I want to hold your hands, walk with you and I want you to laugh often. You always look coldhearted with no relationship with anyone but I want you to open up now and also become warm to others” she responded and he tilted his head in confusion
“That is what you want? Just that? Not clothes, shoes or gifts?” he questioned and she nodded “That’s all I want” she confirmed.
“I will try my best” he told her and she gave him a big hug.
***
Emily was adjusting to school well and catching up with things she had missed out on. She had decided to have a fresh start after having a deep talk with Jessica and opening up to her about what she was feeling.
“I feel like I should bawl my eyes out in front of her and kneel down till she forgives me but that will not mend her broken heart. I am so confused and lost, I don’t even know what to do. I can’t move forward and I cannot run back” she cried on Jessica’s shoulder.
Jessica sighed as she patted her to comfort her, she could understand the guilt eating her up. She had fell for lust and mistook it for love, thinking she would be able to have Eddy to herself if he breaks up with Amber but the guilt surpassed the lust and pushed her to realize that she committed a great mistake.
“You shouldn’t have done that in the first place but then we cannot turn back the hand of time so we have to move on. You shouldn’t stay too long under the weight of this guilt because it will continue to weigh you down and eventually crush you if you don’t act fast. I will still advise you to seek for her forgiveness but you have to forgive yourself first, only then will the courage to move on come” Jessica advised her.
She was coming back from the library after studying all day when Eddy stopped her. She wanted to ignore him but he kept following her around so she had no choice than to put him in him place.
“What exactly do you want from me? I told you not come after me anymore because I can never be with you! I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore! Let me move forward in peace” she screamed at him but he just laughed
“Calm down first! I am not here to ask you to join me because I am moving on now but I am here to make you realize that you pushed me to my success. If you had dated me immediately then I might have not made this kind of fortune” he replied, pointing his car key to the new car he just got with the money Joseph paid him with for the information he spilled and she raised her brows “What nonsense are you spewing again this time around? I am not interested in whatever fortune you have made so just leave me the fuck alone” she gritted her teeth.
“Of course, I came here to say bye because this will be the last time we see each other and also, remember to check up on Amber because she will have to shed some real tears soon on the TV just as much as she had smiled” he told her before releasing a crazy chuckle
“What do you mean by that? What crazy thing are you planning to do?” she yelled at him but he only shrugged, “Why would I tell you about my hidden card? You should look forward to it so you will be surprised to the core and who knows? The excitement might be enough to get you worked up like a firework show” he replied and jumped in his car.
“That son of a bitch” she cursed as she watched zoom off.
She thought about telling her but was also afraid that she might not pick up her call or curse her but after being restless for a while, she decided to call her and get over it.
***
Amber had just came back from work, extremely tired and was pulling off her clothes when her phone rang with Emily as the caller. She hesitated for a bit but after it rang the second time, she picked it up.
“I thought you have cut all ties with me? Do I still have to pick your calls again?” was what she slammed her with as soon as she picked up and Emily apologized for calling her immediately.
“I am sorry for calling you out of the blues but this is not to beg for forgiveness. I just want to inform you that Eddy might be planning something shady behind you. I don’t know what he has in his hand but it seems it would be something hard enough to ruin you. I don’t know what to do and that’s why I am notifying you in advance, I hope you can figure it out and stop it. Thank you for picking up your call” Emily explained and dropped the call before she could even send any reply.
She was speechless at the way Emily hung up that way but she also knew it was to avoid her getting queried by her.
“What is that son of a bastard planning again? He really wants to get it from me this time around” she muttered to herself as she marched to the bathroom.
***
Two weeks later
She had even forgotten about what Emily told her and was at a meeting with the department heads when someone ran inside the conference panicking.
“How dare you barge in here like that? Can you not see that a meeting is ongoing here?” one of the team leader who seemed to be the team in which the employee belonged to lash out at the poor lady.
She raised her hand to calm her down, “It’s okay, let’s have the reason why she” she said and turned to the lady, “Why are you here though?” she questioned.
“Ma’am, you need to turn on the TV, something is going on” she announced and Amber stared at her with a confused expression, “What do you mean by that? She queried and the lady rushed to put on the TV herself.
“Artist UMBRA is a fake, she’s not the owner of the artworks” was the news showing on the TV. She gasped at the revelation and everyone turned to look at her.